Wallkill Valley hosts art invitational
Hardyston. More than 150 works of art from 19 schools were submitted for judging. Winners from Wallkill Valley include Kristina Leonard, Kaitlyn Czifra, and Paige Cocchio.
| 20 Apr 2021 | 02:41
Bob Ross sculpture by Paige Cocchio won an Honorable Mention. Bob Ross was a painter who hosted “The Joy of Painting,” an instructional television program that aired from 1983 to 1994 on PBS.
Kristina Leonard's "Tracks of the Unknown" won first place
Fourteen area high schools and five middle schools participated in Wallkill Valley Regional High School’s tenth annual Invitational Arts Show on March 26.
This year the show was virtual due to the pandemic. More than 150 works of art were submitted for display. The judges were Devon Lee, assistant director of admissions at Savannah College of Art and Design; Brienne Rosner, gallery and craft fair director at Peters Valley School of Craft; Ryan Carroccino, admissions counselor at Montserrat College of Art; and Andrea Geller, art faculty and art recruitment coordinator at William Paterson University.
The middle school category was judged by Wallkill Valley Regional High School’s studio art honors class. Blick Art Materials donated gift certificates totaling $1,000 for the various winners.
There were eight categories: painting, drawing color, sculpture/crafts, pottery, photography, mixed media, digital media, and black-and-white drawing.
Wallkill Valley had two winners in mixed media (works that bring together several different elements). Junior Kristina Leonard won first place “Tracks to the Unknown.”
“The inspiration behind my railroad track piece was the beauty that is all around us in nature,” Kristina said. “We need to appreciate the little things before the big.”
The second runner-up was Wallkill Valley senior Kaitlyn Czifra for her mixed media piece “Reckoning.”
“I was inspired to create this piece because of the division we witness in this country and the division that it has caused in my own family,” Kaitlyn said. “Winning second place in the Wallkill Show makes me feel like others can relate to these experiences.”
“Reckoning” won Best in Show in the Peters Valley School of Craft High School Exhibition last weekend. (See page 16 for related story.)
The judge from Savannah College of Art and Design gave an Honorable Mention to Wallkill Valley senior Paige Cocchio for her Bob Ross sculpture.
“The inspiration behind my railroad track piece was the beauty that is all around us in nature. We need to appreciate the little things before the big.” Kristina Leonard